Blinken meets Chinese counterpart amid tensions over Taiwan, Ukraine

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Blinken meets Chinese counterpart amid tensions over Taiwan, Ukraine

A week of diplomacy for Blinken was capped by the UN General Assembly, where he met with a number of diplomats from around the world and gave speeches rebuking Russia's war in Ukraine at a UN Security Council meeting Thursday. It came as Blinken grieves for an immense personal loss - his father, Donald Blinken, died Thursday evening.

According to the official, the meeting with Wang was extremely candid, direct, constructive, and in depth, and Blinken stressed the need to maintain open lines of communication so that we can manage the US-China relationship, especially during times of tension. They said that the differences between the United States and China are real, but they recognize the need to manage those differences and competition between us.

The relationship between the US and China is one of the most significant challenges facing the US, according to officials. Relations between the two nations were even more rocky after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August, after Beijing increased its provocations toward the island. In a speech to the Asia Society on Thursday, Wang warned that the Taiwan question is growing into the biggest risk in China-US relations. He said that if it is mishandled, it is most likely to damage our bilateral ties. US President Joe Biden, in a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday, was asked if US forces would defend Taiwan. Yes, if in fact there was an unprecedented attack, he replied. The US officials said that their policy toward the island has not changed, and according to the senior administration official, Blinken has made clear in his meeting Friday. He stressed the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. Blinken also reiterated our strong condemnation of Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine and highlighted the implications if China were to provide material support to Russia's invasion or engage in wholesale sanctions evasion, he said. The White House says Biden was answering a hypothetical, not announcing a policy change on Taiwan In recent weeks President Vladimir Putin described China's President Xi Jinping as having questions and concerns about the Ukraine situation. The officials gave no indication that the meeting left Blinken with no expectation that China will take action against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Chinese position, for better or worse, is pretty clear and consistent, and we have seen that through public comments, the official said. US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said last Friday that the relationship between Moscow and Beijing is one of convenience, not necessarily one of trust or one that will combine their efforts on all things. Sherman said in a conversation with Washington Post Live that this is not a full-flown marriage in all ways, shapes and form, but they are certainly going to work together, but they will work for advantage with each other. It was quite interesting that President Putin said that he knew that Xi Jinping had concerns about what he was doing in Ukraine. It was very interesting for Putin to say that. Sherman said she is certain that Xi Jinping is looking for advantage while Russia is continuing its unprovoked, premeditated and horrifying invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign country. She said that Xi Jinping has always talked about sovereignty and territorial integrity, so this doesn't align with the principles he wants to be his own, whether it's about Hong Kong or Taiwan.